Black History Facts

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The book title Make the Impossible Possible (Bill Strickland, 2009) states, in principle, what Sam Young and Rona Tyler Young accomplished  when they prevailed over seemingly impossible obstacles in Goochland County, Virginia. “Down in a valley where you can’t hear nobody pray,” they had to overcome the dangerous concomitants of Blacks being born in 1877 and 1883 respectively (12 and 18 years after the birth of the Ku Klux Klan, a mere 14 and 20 years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued). 

During the Youngs’ youth, Whites lynched Blacks without the perpetrators being arrested. Racial segregation flourished in all aspects of daily life. Blacks addressed Whites as “Mr. and Mrs.” while Whites referenced Black adults as “Boys, Girls, Uncles and Aunties.” School desegregation did not end in Virginia until 1959! In sum, institutionalized racism kept the Youngs in spaces reserved for “coloreds.” 

Rona gave birth to nine children (daughters Ida, Grace, Dolly, Nancy and Minnie; and sons Jake, William, Nash and Zack). Midwives delivered the babies. The nine children’s initial nutrition was breast milk and, sooner than later, they were fed non-pasteurized milk from the one cow their family owned.

Remarkably, for first-generation out of slavery people, Sam and Rona built a home on their several acre farm where they sustained their family of 11 by being accomplished in the art of “making a way out of no way.” Their “enough is as good as a feast” small home was without indoor plumbing. Instead, they located a natural water source and built an approximately 3-feet-deep “Spring” where water bubbled up through sandy soil. For bathing, rain water was collected in barrels and folks bathed in tin tubs.  Home-made lye soap was used for multiple cleansing purposes. Absent indoor plumbing, the family used an “Outhouse” where old crinkled pieces of newspapers and magazines served as “toilet tissue.” A wood-burning stove served as the “kitchen range.” A potbellied, log-burning stove provided heat during the winter months.  Fuel consisted of the wood they chopped and, when limited funds permitted, kerosene for night lamps.

In Goochland where the Youngs spent their formative years, there were no drugstores or health clinics –at least not for Blacks.  The closest hospital was in Richmond, more than 30 miles away, a several days round trip in a horse-drawn wagon. It took days for a doctor to make a home visit, if a White doctor was willing to do so. Children did not receive the 16 childhood vaccinations that are commonplace today. Sam and Rona had a “home recipe” for every affliction, e.g., Mustard Plasters for colds; a cloth soaked in vinegar water and placed on one’s head and feet to break a fever; an array of potions and salves laced with herbs designed to treat various “miseries;” and, of great importance to them, solemn prayer. 

Some of their daughters’ dresses were made from flour sacks. Proceeds from the sale of farm products in Richmond were used to purchase clothing for family members. Just as folks ate “every part of the pig except the squeal,” there was no such thing as “old clothing,” but rather “hand-me-downs” were facts of life until the last recipient literally wore them out. 

Absent refrigeration, salt cured pork and fish were normative. Additional meat was obtained by hunting deer, rabbits, raccoons, and squirrels. The family grew their vegetables; gathered wild Watercress; made biscuits and cornbread “from scratch;” and “put up,” in Mason jars, wild Blackberry preserves. There was no mythical daily diet of “southern fried chicken” because to kill the chickens would have been to kill their egg suppliers. Similarly, cows produced milk, not hamburgers and steaks. 

As a housewife, Rona worked the “can’t see in the morning to can’t see at night” shift. Sam did the same on the farm and, when possible, he earned less than minimum wages working at a sawmill or the local railroad. Refusing to be torn asunder, they bonded their family with love and made it possible for their nine children to do what so many Black parents have wished ever since Africans were enslaved in America, i.e., “that their children would go further in life.” 

A mere four generations later, with systemic racism still flourishing, Rona’s and Sam’s  descendants have truly gone further. Geographically, their descendants have travelled the world. From the confines of Goochland, they have settled in states as varied as California, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.  

Although Rona and Sam were denied public school educations, they have many descendants who graduated from various postsecondary schools and institutes as well as an array of distinguished colleges and universities. A number of them earned Masters and Doctoral degrees. 

Rona and Sam were limited to “making a way out of no way” on a subsistence farm, but their descendants have worked in a plethora of capacities/professions including the following examples: administrative assistant; airline hostess; automotive industry; banking; beautician; architect; business; corporate executive; construction industry; cosmetology; credit union consultant; elected government official; data analyst; draftsman; engineer; entrepreneur; equity and social justice advocate; higher education administrator and professor; law; media production; members of various military branches; minister; NCAA athlete; nurse; occupational therapist; phlebotomist; professional athlete; public school teacher and administrator; public health professional; real estate; social work; U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement; and U.S. Postal Service.

When “my soul looks back and wonder, how I got over,” one foundational factor is that every summer my parents, Russell P. Daniel, Sr. and Grace C. Daniel sent me “down home” to live with my maternal grandparents Sam Young and Rona Tyler Young. “Down home” was a summer safe haven from the traps that destroyed Black children who inhabited public housing in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. “Down home,” my maternal grandparents, genuine “hidden figures,” also made clear the tremendous value of things such as creativity, commitment, education, faith, giving, hard work, perseverance, thrift, and love of family!

Jack L. Daniel

Co-founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

February 14, 2022

Traci Jackson has been a leader in the utilities and communication fields for more than 25 years.  She has been a part of the Duquesne Light Team for five years, first as the Governmental Account Representative, and then advancing to the Manager of Business Customers.  Currently, Traci is the Director of the Contact Center.  In this role, Traci leads the managers and customer service representatives who support residential clients.  Traci also manages the Major Accounts Team, which serves as trusted energy partners for DLC’s largest commercial and industrial customers.  Working in this capacity, Traci establishes strong working partnerships that develop, coordinate, and maintain productivity standards.     Prior to joining Duquesne Light, Traci worked for 18 years with Verizon, where she held a variety of roles within the customer service/installation and maintenance divisions, including twelve years as Area Manager of I&M/construction.  With these responsibilities, Traci led teams who constructed the Fios build and equipped residential and commercial customers with service.  A business alumna of the Pennsylvania State University and an MBA graduate of Waynesburg University, Traci began her career as a purchasing agent for Penn State University and Kaufman Department stores.   Traci is married and has two twin sons, Tyler and Eric (18).

As an African American woman, in a key position at Duquesne Light, what is the significance of celebrating Black History month?     Black History Month’s celebrates the significant accomplishments of African American people.  It is these contributions that have created the opportunity for success for leaders like me, and they have also given me the responsibility to create opportunities for the next generation.    

In your role as Director Contact Center at Duquesne Light Company, tells us more about your position and responsibilities.      As the Director of the Contact Center, I lead our residential and business customer service operations, and provide direction to our support staff, quality assurance and training organization.  The Major Accounts / New Connection team is also part of the group.  Our focus is managing the relationships and the projects of Duquesne Light’s largest Commercial and Industrial customers     

In your leadership position, how are you helping Duquesne Light “engage” with the diverse communities?     The Contact Center and the Business teams are often considered the front door to DLC.  We ensure that DLC is available to assist all our community members including our small to large business customers who are considering establishing business within our footprint which may bring additional growth and opportunity to our area.  We are #heretohelp. 

Reflecting on history, who inspired you to become the leader you are today?  Our greatest inspirations are often those closest to us.  My mother played an important part of shaping the leader I am today.  As an educator, she stressed the importance of continuous learning and community service. 

January 31, 2022

NATIONAL BLACK HISTORY MONTH, 2022

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Each February, National Black History Month serves as both a celebration and a powerful reminder that Black history is American history, Black culture is American culture, and Black stories are essential to the ongoing story of America -- our faults, our struggles, our progress, and our aspirations.  Shining a light on Black history today is as important to understanding ourselves and growing stronger as a Nation as it has ever been.  That is why it is essential that we take time to celebrate the immeasurable contributions of Black Americans, honor the legacies and achievements of generations past, reckon with centuries of injustice, and confront those injustices that still fester today.

Our Nation was founded on an idea:  that all of us are created equal and deserve to be treated with equal dignity throughout our lives.  It is a promise we have never fully lived up to but one that we have never, ever walked away from.  The long shadows of slavery, Jim Crow, and redlining -- and the blight of systemic racism that still diminishes our Nation today -- hold America back from reaching our full promise and potential.  But by facing those tragedies openly and honestly and working together as one people to deliver on America's promise of equity and dignity for all, we become a stronger Nation -- a more perfect version of ourselves.

Across the generations, countless Black Americans have demonstrated profound moral courage and resilience to help shape our Nation for the better.  Today, Black Americans lead industries and movements for change, serve our communities and our Nation at every level, and advance every field across the board, including arts and sciences, business and law, health and education, and many more.  In the face of wounds and obstacles older than our Nation itself, Black Americans can be seen in every part of our society today, strengthening and uplifting all of America.

Vice President Harris and I are deeply committed to advancing equity, racial justice, and opportunity for Black Americans as we continue striving to realize America's founding promise.  That began by building a Federal Government that looks like America:  including the first Black Secretary of Defense, the first Black woman to head the Office of Management and Budget, the first Black man to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, the first Black woman to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development in more than 40 years, the first Black chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors, a Black Ambassador representing America at the United Nations, and the first Black and South Asian Vice President in our history.  We have been proud to appoint accomplished Black Americans to serve in a vast array of roles across our Administration.  I am prouder still to have already nominated eight Black women to serve as Federal appellate judges -- matching in just 1 year the total number of Black women who have ever served on Federal appeals courts.

My Administration has worked hard to reverse decades of underinvestment in Black communities, schools, and businesses.  Both the American Rescue Plan and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are making historic investments in Black America -- from vaccine shots in arms to checks in families' pockets and tax cuts for working families with children to a landmark $5.8 billion investment in and support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities.  And in my first year in office, the American Rescue Plan provided the full Child Tax Credit to the lower income families of more than 26 million children -- who are disproportionately Black -- and put us on a path to cut Black child poverty in half.

As the Infrastructure Law continues to be implemented, we will expand on that progress.  Lead service lines that have contaminated the water of too many homes and schools in Black communities will be removed and replaced.  We will deliver high-speed internet to every community so that no Black family is left behind in the 21st century economy.  Historic investments in public transportation will help more people in more neighborhoods get to where good jobs actually are quickly and safely.  We will reconnect Black neighborhoods cut off from opportunity by highways that were built to brush them aside.  Long-standing environmental injustices that have hit Black communities the hardest will be remediated.  We will deliver major investments in Black entrepreneurs and small businesses -- including making the Minority Business Development Agency permanent and seeding it with a record $110 million in new resources to help level the playing field for Black businesses.

But this is only the start.  To fulfill America's promise for all, we will work tirelessly in the year ahead to deliver on my Build Back Better agenda, bringing down the costs that families face on child care, housing, education, health care, prescription drugs, and so much more.  We will continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic with equity at the center of our response.  We will not rest until we have protected the foundation of our democracy:  the sacred right to vote.  And we will fight to keep dismantling all of those structural inequities that have served as barriers for Black families for generations.

As we celebrate National Black History Month, let us all recommit ourselves to reach for that founding promise.  Let us continue to fight for the equity, opportunity, and dignity to which every Black American is due in equal measure.  Let us carry forward the work to build an America that is, in the beautiful words of the poet Amanda Gorman, "Bruised, but whole -- benevolent, but bold, fierce, and free."

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim February 2022 as National Black History Month.  I call upon public officials, educators, librarians, and all the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-sixth.

JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

2022 theme is Black Health and Wellness

 HARRISBURG, Jan. 28 – State Reps. Donna Bullock, Summer Lee and Carol Hill-Evans have introduced a resolution to recognize February 2022 as Black History Month in Pennsylvania.

The 2022 theme is Black Health and Wellness, acknowledging the legacy of Black scholars and medical practitioners in Western medicine but also other ways of knowing, such as midwives, naturopaths and herbalists, throughout the African Diaspora. In Pennsylvania, the theme of health and wellness correlates directly to the work of the PA Legislative Black Caucus on health equity during the pandemic.

“Black History Month would not have been possible without the creation of Negro History Week in the United States by famous historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro life and history,” said Bullock, who is also chair of the PA Legislative Black Caucus. “The focus was to teach and encourage the history of Black Americans at a primary level.”

Bullock said Woodson’s vision later evolved in 1969, where the idea of Black History Month -- instead of a week -- was promoted by students and educators at Kent State University followed by its first celebration on campus in 1970. U.S. President Gerald Ford praised Black History Month and urged citizens to seize the opportunity to honor the too often neglected and overlooked accomplishments of Black Americans throughout history.

  Black History Month celebrations and virtual programming planned throughout February

The Pittsburgh Penguins will kick off a month of Black History Month celebrations on Sunday, January 30, when the team hosts the Los Angeles Kings at 1 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena.

During the month of February, the Penguins will celebrate Black History Month through virtual programming focused on elevating Black leaders and change-makers, sharing inspiring stories of historic resilience, and connecting our fans to one another through their love for hockey.

Last summer the Penguins opened the Willie O'Ree Academy to offer free, high-quality training and support to local Black youth hockey players and their families. This fall the team opened a seasonal indoor hockey rink at the Hunt Armory in Shadyside to host its hockey diversity programming.

"The Penguins are devoted to supporting the youth of our city and the Black community. It's part of our mission, and we're happy to lead the National Hockey League and the city of Pittsburgh in celebrating Black History Month all through February," Penguins President David Morehouse said.

Join the Penguins this Black History Month, as we inspire, connect, and elevate in person and virtually through programming that unites our community, staff, and fans. These programs will feature NHL players and executives, community leaders, and Penguins front office staff, as we come together this Black History Month.

On Sunday, January 30 at 1 p.m., the team will hold a Black Hockey History Day at PPG Paints Arena as the Penguins play the Los Angeles Kings. Prior to the puck drop, there will be opportunities for fans to connect in person with networking events, and there will be a special exhibit on Black hockey from the Hockey Hall of Fame.

All fans in attendance will receive a rally towel presented by CNX.

At the Black Hockey History game, fans will be able to visit the first-of-its-kind exhibit from the Hockey Hall of Fame detailing the history of Black hockey with memorabilia from HHOF Honored Members Grant Fuhr, Jarome Iginla, Angela James, and Willie O'Ree, in addition to hockey artifacts dating as far back as 1905. The Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award will also be on display.

The exhibit is being funded by a grant to the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation from the Irene W. and C.B Pennington Foundation to highlight and celebrate diversity in hockey.

Fans will also connect with diverse organizations at concourse activation tables near the exhibit, which will be located in the Hallmark Hall of Champions, behind the Captain Morgan Club.

Through the month of February, the Penguins will honor and celebrate Black History Month by providing a series of virtual programming for our partners, community, staff, and fans.

"We take seriously our responsibility to institute positive, systemic change as we look to use our sport and influence to be champions of diversity and inclusion, both on and off the ice, and our virtual Black History Month programming allows us to reach our fans in our community and beyond," said Delvina L. Morrow, the Penguins' Senior Director of Strategic and Community Initiatives, and DEI. 

Programming will feature NHL players and executives, community leaders, and Penguins front office staff, as they celebrate Black History Month, sharing inspiring stories of historic resilience, connecting our fans to one another through their love of

hockey, and elevating Black leaders and change-makers.

More details on the virtual events will be announced soon. Please visit the team's Black History Month webpage to sign up for updates.

By Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

While we hope you’ll be able to explore the Black History Month book displays and resources in our branches this February, we also gathered and developed a variety of virtual programming and booklists to engage the community remotely—not only during this special month-long celebration, but throughout the year.

Dr. Carter G. Woodson, ​founder of Black History Month, began the observance in 1926 to coincide with the week in February that hosted ​the birthdays of both Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. What began as a celebration of Black accomplishments in history has grown into an annual tradition and prompted widespread discussion on the Black experience. Every year a theme is chosen with over 90 celebrated since 1928 (source: asalh.org).

The Association for the Study of African American Life and History has named the theme for 2022 “Black Health and Wellness.” This year’s theme will not only acknowledge notable Black scholars and practitioners in medicine but also honor activities and initiatives that Black communities have participated in for health and wellness. More information on this year’s theme can found on the ASALH website.

A directory of this year’s Black History Month resources from the Library can be found below. Items will appear linked as they become available online.

Virtual Programs and Videos:

• A Special Black History Month Virtual Storytime | Tuesday, February 1
• Abstract Rock Painting Inspired by Alma Woodsey Thomas
• Cut Paper Art and Identity Exploration With Kara Walker
• Black Prints Inspired by the Work of Elizabeth Catlett
• Bisa Butler Inspired Fabric Collages

Blog Posts and Staff Picks:

• Medical discrimination and it’s history
• Black authors with neurodiversities
• Black authored cookbooks
• Black authored graphic novels
• Black Joy
• Books by Christian Robinson
• Life I Swear/I’m Speaking Now (Black women on self-improvement and empowerment)

Also, check out our social media channels for more informative content and features!